Hardly anyone in the UK can have escaped the frenzy of the Rio Olympics. Even those who aren't sports fans have been captivated by the spectacle and the growing mountain of medals and winners for GB.

We may be a small nation in terms of population compared to the mighty USA, Russia and China, but that doesn't seem to have stopped us from coming second in the world's best sporting arena.

This article tries to shed some light on just how we have done it, but in simple terms it's not that complicated: verbalise a goal; put together a plan to achieve it; invest in the best experts and facilities; allow time and money to follow and implement the plan; let the plan mature; and fast forward to the fruits of that plan in Rio 2016!

This formula is not unique to sport, GB or the Olympics, it can be applied to many aspects of life. Goal-based planning is a successful way for individuals who are aiming to attain life goals and financial wellbeing. It has to start with verbalising what you want to achieve, setting a date and cost to those aims and breaking that down into a plan of smaller milestones as to how you can achieve that.

Success is infectious, but it is rarely easy to come by as can be seen from interviews with all the athletes of Rio 2016. Sacrifice, hard work and dogged determination over a number of years are the hallmarks of winners. So for those looking to achieve some personal lifetime goals of their own, it is worth remembering these themes and that for success, expertise, time and money properly allocated and directed pay dividends.

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It has been an Olympic fiesta like never before for Britain: second place in the medal table for the first time in 108 years, the first nation to increase its medal count at five successive Games, the only host nation to go on to win more medals at the next Olympics. Never before has a Briton won a diving gold. Never before has a Briton won a gymnastics gold. There have been champions across 15 different sports, a spread no other country can get close to touching.